The present invention relates generally to toy vehicles and, more particularly, to remote control toy vehicles capable of “jumping” or lifting off of a surface upon which the vehicle is traveling.
Toy vehicles are known which include a mechanism for elevating or lifting the vehicle during normal operation. For example, the prior art includes Japanese Patent Publication Number 10-066787 (“JP 10-066787”), which discloses a toy vehicle with a jumping mechanism. As illustrated in FIG. 7 of JP 10-066787, the toy vehicle of that invention is capable of executing only a simple linear jumping motion. Furthermore, the toy vehicle of JP 10-066787 does not disclose safety features which prevent operation of the jumping mechanism when the toy vehicle is not in a safe operating condition. It is believed that a new toy vehicle design having both an unusual lifting action as well as safety features to help prevent hazardous operation of the lift mechanism would be desirable.